Acclaimed specialist in big data and cancer joins David Geffen School of Medicine

Data code pattern on a computer screen
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Internationally acclaimed cancer genomics researcher Dr. Paul C. Boutros will join the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in key leadership roles within the school and at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.

As Director of Cancer Data Science for the Cancer Center, Associate Director of Cancer Informatics at the Institute for Precision Health, and Professor of Urology and Human Genetics, Boutros will use big data to help optimize treatment for patients, further advancing UCLA’s reputation as a world leader in the field of genomics-based cancer research. He will also be an integral member of the Institute of Urologic Oncology and the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA.

Boutros, who has a doctorate in Medical Biophysics, joins UCLA from the University of Toronto, where he served as an Associate Professor in Pharmacology and Toxicology and Medical Biophysics. He was also a Principal Investigator in the Informatics and Biocomputing Program for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, and led Canada’s national prostate cancer genomics program. His work focuses on the development of clinically useful biomarkers using genomic and data science techniques, such as next-generation sequencing, clinical and cellular imaging, machine-learning, crowd-sourcing and cloud-computing

“Paul’s remarkable expertise and work in cancer data and genomics will help us improve our understanding of cancer and will put the management of cancer in a new light,” said Dr. Mike Teitell, director of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and president of the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation. “His arrival directly affects a wide variety of departments and research teams across the campus and we are extremely pleased to have him join the UCLA family.”

Boutros’ laboratory will look specifically into the impact of big data on cancer care, assessing how best to use this broad field of cancer data science to create more personalized treatments for patients.

“One of the great things about UCLA is the immense diversity of the Los Angeles population. It allows for questions that can never really be answered anywhere else,” said Boutros. “I’m extremely pleased to join the esteemed physicians and researchers at UCLA and look forward to working with them to develop more personalized treatments and find ways to maximize the best chance of cure for patients who have been diagnosed with some of the most devastating diseases.”

Boutros received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from the University of Waterloo, his doctorate in Medical Biophysics from the University of Toronto, and his Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

He will join UCLA at the end of September.